Method for making pile fabric



Dec. 3, 1940. Q AMSTUZ 2,223,476

METHOD FOR MAKING FILE FABRIC Filed Nov. 2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l -JUHNU. AMSTUZ Dec. 3, 1940. J Q AMSTUZ 2,223,476

1 METHOD FOR MAKING FILE FABRIC Filed NOV. 2, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VMHIRH H HUMM JOHN D. AMSTUZ Patented Dec. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 12 Claims.

The invention relates to the manufacture of pile fabric.

One object of the invention is to provide a new type of pile fabricwhich can be produced at low cost. Another object of the invention is toform a pile fabric with a paper backing. Another object of the inventionis to provide a rapid method for the manufacture of a pile fabric in anunlimited number of designs. Another object of the invention is todeposit flock upon a sheet surface in a fine coating with the of theinvention is to provide a textilearticle coated with flock in which thefibres are laid normal to the plane .of the textile material. Otherobjects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the severalsteps and relation and order of each of said steps to one or more of theothers thereof, all as will be illustratively described herein, and thescope of the application of which will be indicated in the followingclaims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the mechanical features ofthis invention,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating apparatus for themanufacture of a pile fabric in which the pile is continuous andattached to a backing of paper or cloth.

Figure 2 is the representation of a drying room and take-up device.

Figure 3 is a greatly magnified cross sectional view of a sheet of thepile fabric constructed in accordance with the invention in which thebacking is paper.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 illustrating a pile fabric of theinvention in which the backing is cloth.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view of stenciling apparatus which may besubstituted for the adhesive coating apparatus of Figure 1 in order toput the pile on to the fabric in the fo m of a design.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of printing apparatus utilizing anengraved roll which may be substituted for the apparatus of Figure 5 orthe adhesive applying apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure '7 is an illustration of a pile fabric incorporating a designmanufactured according to the invention.

Referring first to Figure l, I provide a roll of sheet material In. Thismay be paper or it may be cloth. If cloth is used preferably a fairlyclose weave will be employed but I may use a relatively inexpensivegrade of cloth. Cotton sheeting is a good example of the cloth that maybe employed and desirably is dyed the same color as that of the pilethat is to be applied.

The roll of sheet material I0 is wound on a roller H which is mounted inany suitable manner as is well known in the textile finishing art and asuitable friction brake may be applied if desired. The sheet material I2passes down 7 around a roller l3 and up around a roller l4 and fibresarranged in parallelism. Another object around a roller 15. It thenpasses between an adhesive applying roller l6 and a pressure roller II.The roller l6 revolves in a trough I8 filled with adhesive l9 andsuitable apparatus may be provided for heating the adhesive. The sheetmaterial [2 then passes upwardly to a roller then over a roller 2|whence it is delivered to that portion of the apparatus which appliesthe pile. some or all of the rollers l3, l4, l5, l6, ll, 20, and 2| arepositively rotated and preferably all of them are rotated insynchronized relation at a given peripheral velocity, but the drivemeans for the rollers has not been illustrated as such is wellunderstood.

Any suitable adhesive l9 may be used. As an illustrative example Imention the various glues. I may use a printing glue, for example therelatively flexible glue described in Dickinson Patent No. 282,034 or aglue which is particularly suitable for textile printing such asdescribed in Mills Patent No. 569,112. For certain purposes and toachieve certain results I may tan the glue with formaldehyde in order toresist the action of water. In mentioning glue as the adhesive I wish itto be understood that the invention is not limited to the use thereofand in mentioning particular types of glue it should be understood thatI may use other types, the examples given being merely examples ofpractical ways to carry out the invention.

I provide a quantity of flock which I may place in a hopper 26. The termflock is usually applied to the shearings from woolen cloth produced inthe finishing mill. These shearings comprise separated fibres ofsubstantially uniform length. Preferably I use fibres of as uniformlength as possible, but I may use fibres of materials other than wool,for example fibres of silk, cotton, or rayon.

The hopper 26 has a suitable slidinggate 21 controlling the bottomopening 28 thereof and the gate has a handle 29 by means of which theoperator can cause flock to be delivered as desired.

I find that better results are achieved if the flock is well broken upprior to the application thereof, as will be described. Furthermore, itshould preferably be fairly well distributed lat- 5 erally of themachine.

box 30 to receive the flock from the hopper 28, the box being mounted onslideways 3i to move rectilineally and a crank 32 and pitman 33 beingprovided to vibrate the box 30. The crank 82 is mounted on a suitableshaft 34 driven from any suitable source of power at a speed of forexample 400 R. P. M. In the bottom of the box 38 is a screen 38 throughwhich the flock passes on to a traveling belt 81.

The traveling belt 3'! is preferably slightly wider than the sheetmaterial I! and travels at a variable speed, being driven by a variablespeed motor, not shown. The belt 31 passes around rollers 38, 38,50, andH, one of which is positively 2 driven by the variable speed motor. Thepurpose of varying the speed of the belt is to find for each differentcondition by quick empiricism the best speed to deliver the right amountof flock to the apparatus. The speed range should be both above andbelow that of the sheet material l2. The belt speed is varied inconnection with the gate opening 28 and the particular mesh of thescreen 38. Various modifications of the means to deliver flock may beadopted, for ex- 30 ample an electric vibrator with rheostat control maybe substituted for the crank 32 and pitman 33 and it is also desirableto provide an electric or pneumatic vibrator to vibrate the hopper 28 toeliminate packing of fiock in the hopper itself.

5 Electric and pneumatic vibrators are now well known and are regularcommercial products which can be procured in a variety of sizes.Conditions vary widely with particular specifications of the ultimatefabric that is being produced but with variable controls such as havebeen described, only a few minutes variation of thead- Justments hereindescribed will readily determine the correct setting for all thereof ina given apparatus.

4 Preferably the belt 3'! passes downwardly between the rollers 38 and38 at an incline de termined by the following considerations: It isdesired that sheet material l2, which after leaving the roller 2i passesbetween rollers 42 and 43 in a course parallel to that of the belt 31,shall sag as little as possible. The vertical condition is the conditionof least sag. On the other hand, it is not desired that the flock shallmove on the belt 31 by reason of the force of gravity. The

limiting factor here is the point where the coeflicient of friction ofthe flock is equal to its component along the downward path due togravity. Satisfactory results can be achieved with a pitch about asshown in Figure 1 and somewhat steeper inclinations may be employed.

I provide an upper electrode 50 and a lower electrode 5i. These may bemade of metal, for example of aluminum for lightness, and may be ofribbed construction as shown, for the same reason. They may be coveredwith insulating material, such as resinoid or hard rubber, which is anadvantage if the coating is done with higher voltages or when the flockis too conductive and may facilitate the forming or sustaining of an arebetween the electrodes. The surfaces of the electrodes 50 and 5| thatface each other are plane surfaces and preferably as nearly as possiblethey are in contact respectively with the back side of the sheetmaterial I! and the under 78 side of the belt 31. The belt 31 ispreferably I therefore provide a fairly thin and may be made of asuitable grade of denim cotton cloth so that the flock will be veryclose to the electrode iii.

For energizing the electrodes 58 and II to produce an electrostaticfield between them, I pro- 5 vide high voltage alternating currentvariable frequency apparatus which may be as in the followingillustrative example:

Still referring to Figure 1, I provide any suitable source of directcurrent connected to main 10 power lines 55, 88. The voltage may be asdesired, for example 110 volts. The conductor mains 55, 58 are connectedby conductors 51 and 58 and a knife switch 58 to conductors 88 and 8i.The conductor 8| leads to a terminal of a 15 D. C. motor 63. Theconductor 80 is connected to a rheostat 84 which is in turn connected bymeans of a conductor to the other terminal of the motor 83. The motor 83may be series or shunt wound, as desired, and the rheostat 84 2 may bein the outside conductor or may be in the shunt circuit for the fieldwinding, as desired, or any other suitable variation may be adopted. Themotor 83 is therefore a variable speed motor and for it may besubstituted any 25 other variable drive subject to control by fineincrements of speed change, for example any form of variable speedfriction gear drive apparatus may be used, many types thereof being nowwell known. 30

The motor 83 is coupled to a single phase A. C. generator 15. The field18 of the generator 15 may be excited by current from the D. C. line 55,58, conductors l1, 18, I8, 80, and a knife switch 8| being provided forthis purpose. I 35 preferably provide a further rheostat 82 forcontrolling the voltage of the generator 15.

The conductors 85, 88 from the generator I5 are connected 'to theprimary of a step-up transformer 81. The secondary of the transformer 8140 is connected by conductors 80 and 8| to the electrodes 50 and 5|respectively. In the conductor line 86 is preferably located an ammeter82 and across the conductors 85 and 86 is preferably connected a voltmeter 83. I further provide 45 connected between the conductors 85 and88 a frequency or cycle meter 84. Furthermore, in circuit in theconductor 88 I place a rheostat 88.

I am enabled by this apparatus to achieve a voltage across theelectrodes 58 and 5] of the 50 order of one hundred thousand volts whichI can vary between five thousand volts and one hundred thousand volts.The gap between the belt 31 and the sheet material I! may be varied butI have found that a gap of one inch to two inches 55 works well inactual practice. By driving the motor 83 at varying speeds of rotationbetween 600 R. P. M. and 1800 R. P. M., I am enabled to change thefrequency between ten cycles and thirty cycles, using a generator 15which is the 80 equivalent of a two-pole generator.

I have discovered that comminuted textile material such as flock may beseparated and oriented by means of an alternating current electrostaticfield of high voltage of a given frequency 85 for certain givenconditions involving the gap distance of the field, the voltagestrength, and the particular type of flock employed. When the electrodes50 and SI are impressed with opposite sign voltages, the flock simplybridges the gap 70 between the sheet material I! and the belt 31 instring formation and produces a short circuit and is ineffective forcoating the sheet material i2. When the sign of each electrode changeswith a frequency of the order indicated. the flock 1 tends to dance withthe alternations of the current. Flock of a given particle size has anatural frequency between electrodes spaced by a given gap. By selectingthe electric frequency to cor- I respond with the flock frequency. theflock particles are broken up and prevented from producing stringformation. As the frequency of the electric current nears the frequencyof the fiock,

, the flock is raised higher and higher until a regular cloud of flockbetween the electrodes is produced. In other words, the propulsiveimpulses of the alternating current in opposite directions tend topropel the flock first toward and then from the adhesively coatedbacking material, as the direction of current fiow and the potential inthe field alternate. Under the influence of a particular voltage in thefield, it takes a'particular fiock particle a predetermined length oftime to move across the field, from a plane adjacent the lower electrodeto the plane of the adhesively coated sheet, depending upon thecharacteristics of the flock and, of course, the space between theelectrodes. Flock reaching the surface I2 which has been, as described,coated with glue or other adhesive, is retained there. All particles offlock orient themselves normal to the surface of the material I2 and theresult is a depositing of pile upon the material I2 in evenly spacedcondition. If the flock particles are not retained after they areprojected toward the adhesive by a propulsive impulse in one direction,they will be projected away from the adhesively coated sheet during theother half of the alternating current cycle, whereupon their directionof movement will immediately be reversed, during the next cycle and theywill be again projected toward the sheet. As stated above, the frequencyof the alternating current cycle is adjusted to correspond to thisfrequency of movement of the i0 fiock material so that the currentimpulses in opposite directions last for the correct duration of time tocause the particles to fluctuate back and forth between the belt 21 andthe sheet material I2. The expression "frequency of com- 45 minutedmaterial" in the claims means the natural characteristics of thematerial under the ini'iuences referred to above.

If the delivery of flock from the screen 36 is of the right amount,practically all of it will be 50 deposited upon the sheet material I2.Excess fiock over a certain amount simply drops back as it finds no moreadhesive to attach to. Preferably more flock is delivered than isneeeded so there will be certain to be enough and the excess 55 fallsinto a collecting pan I00.

From the roller 43 the now surfaced material passes to a roller IOIwhence it is directed upwardly around a roller I 02 into a drying roomI00 where the material may be festooned then 00 out around a roller I04and roller I05 to a constant speed take up roller I06 by means of whichit is wound on a roll I01 of the self-winding variety. The roller I06 ispositively driven and preferably so also are the rollers IOI, I02 andI04.

65 The drying room I 03 and the apparatus shown in Figure 2 may belocated on a floor above the apparatus shown in Figure 1. By theparticular arrangement of apparatus shown I avoid touching the coatedside of the material with anything 70 until'it is ultimately wound intothe roll of finished material I00 but even this may be dispensed with asthe material may be cut off into sheets as it is delivered.

Considering now the product formed, Figures 3 75 and 4 respectivelyillustrate it, Figure 3 showing the pile fabric of the invention with apaper back I21: and Figure 4 showing the pile fabric of the inventionwith a cloth back III). In each case a layer of adhesive I0 unites theindividual fibres of flock or other material 20 to the backing I21: 5and In respectively. It will be noted that the fibres of material 25stand parallel to each other and normal to the backing and this resultis achieved in actual practice with the use of the apparatus described.The individual fibres of material 25 have like'charges of electricityand so repel each other which is why they stand parallel to each otherand the repulsion also spaces them evenly on the backing. Although Ihave particularly mentioned flock, other comminuted fibrous material maybe employed, for example rabbit's fur such as is used in the manufactureof hats.

The article of the invention simulates billiard cloth and, with a paperbacking may be used for decorative purposes where permanency anddurability are not important qualities. For example it may beeffectively employed as a table covering in restaurants and the likeintended to be discarded after a single use. When embodied in materialhaving a cloth backing I2b it resists tearing more readily and has asomewhat more permanent character especially if formaldehyde has beenused to tan the glue. It then may be used for many decorative purposesand as a substitute for woven pile fabrics. Either form can be used forwall paper or the like.

The apparatus already described produces a pile fabric with a continuousor solid coating. It may be desired to coat the paper or cloth withfibres according to the invention in the form of a design. As shown inFigure 7 I may produce a textile fabric comprising a. backing I2b withfigures I08 of pile fabric formation and in any desired design. Suchmaterial may be used for a wide variety of purposes, in fact wherevercloth is used, as the design may be small or large and cover a small ora large area and the backing I21) may be previously printed if desired.

Two modifications for applying the pile in the form of a design areillustrated in Figures 5 and 6. Referring first to Figure 5, I haveillustrated a stenciling apparatus of the general type disclosed inpatent to Hanington No. 1,546,834. I provide a roll IIO of paper orcloth I2 which is conducted around small rollers H8 and then over ablanket I I9 and a drum I20 to a roller I2I whence it is delivered tothe roller 42 and the rest of the apparatus shown in Figure 1. Theblanket II9 extends also around a roller I22 as shown. Between rollersI23 and I24 suitably journalled as shown and as also described in thepatent to Hanington referred to, extends a stencil I25. Thestencil I25may be of the type described in the patent to Hanington referred to ormay be of other well known varieties, for example it may be of sheetmetal with openings therein in the form of a design. The patent toHanington referred to describes a stencil which is of open mesh materialwith many of the meshes blocked ofi or filled. The advantage of thisparticular stencil is that a design in the form of a closed designwithout any break may be achieved.

The stenciling apparatus may further include a container I21 foradhesive I9 which extends throughout the width of the machine and whichcontainer has a. restricted opening I28 in the bottom thereof and aslide I29 arranged for controlling the fiow of adhesive. Three pressersI30 are provided and held by a member I3I which is supported by themachine. These pressers otherwise known as doctor scrapers may be madeof brass or steel or rubber and they act to force the adhesive throughthe openings in the stencil and roll IIIla of paper or cloth I2 passesover a roller I and then downwardlyunder a roller I4I into contact witha blanket II9a which extends around a drum I200 and a roller I22a. Anengraved printing roller I42 has an engraved surface I43. This may be acopper or steel engraving. In contact with the engraved surface I43 is aroller I44 revolving in a trough I45 containing the adhesive I9.Adhesive is transferred to surface I43 and a plurality of doctor bladesI46 press the adhesive into the depressions and scrape it from theelevated surfaces. The adhesive is then transferred to the sheet I2where the sheet passes between the surface I43 and the blanket Ilsa. Thesheet I2 then passes over a roller I2 Ia and thence to the roller 42 andthe rest of the apparatus from that point on shown in Figure 1 andultimately to the drying and take up apparatus of Figure 2.

Different types of designs will be respectively applied by the differenttypes of apparatus herein illustrated as the stencil type is betteradapted for coating where there are large areas of design I09 and theengraved roller apparatus is preferable where the designs I09 arerelatively small in area. Other types of apparatus for coating sheetmaterial I2 with adhesive in the form of a design whereby comminutedfibrous material may be applied thereto as hereinbefore disclosed maybe'used.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention amethod and apparatus and an article in which the various objectshereinbefore set forth together with many thoroughly practicaladvantages are successfully achieved. As various possible embodimentsmight be made of the mechanical features of the above invention and asthe art herein described might be varied in various parts, all withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is to be understood thatall matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawingsis to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In the art of coating sheet material with fibrous comminutedmaterial, the improvement which consists in feeding the sheet materialand the comminuted material into an electrostatic field of alternatingpotential, and controlling the cycle of alternations to make thepositive and negative fluctuations equal in duration and potential.

2. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises: establishing an electrostatic field alternating in acycle in which the positive and negative fluctuations are equal induration and potential, introducing adhesively coated sheet materialinto said field and introducing comminuted pile surface forming materialinto the field, whereby the comminuted material is propelled toward andfrom said surface until it becomes adhesively united thereto.

3. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises establishing an alternating electrostatic field,controlling the cycle of alternations to make the positive and negativefluctuations equal in duration and potential, controlling the frequencyof alternations between ten and thirty cycles per second, introducingadhesively coated sheet material into the field and introducingcomminuted pile surface forming material into the field.

4. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises establishing an electrostatic field alternating in acycle in which the positive and negative fluctuations are equal induration and potential. the frequency of said field being not less thanten cycles, and introducing adhesively coated sheet material andcomminuted pile surface forming material into the field in spacedrelation, whereby the comminuted material is propelled toward and fromsaid surface until it becomes adhesively united thereto.

5. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises establishing an electrostatic field alternating in acycle in which the positive and negative fluctuations are equal induration and potential", introducing adhesively coated sheet materialand comminuted pile surface forming material into the field in spacedrelation, whereby the comminuted material is propelled toward and fromsaid surface until it becomes adhesively united thereto, and adjustingthe frequency of alternations in said cycle to substantially correspondto the frequency of the comminuted material to effect maximum propulsionof the material toward and from the sheet.

6. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises establishing an electrostatic field alternating in acycle in which the current fluctuations in opposite directions are equalin duration and potential, introducing adhesively coated sheet ma terialand comminuted pile surface forming material into the field in spaced.relation, whereby said" fluctuations in opposite directions tend topropel the material toward and from the sheet, and adjusting the cycleof fluctuations to correspond to the frequency of the material andnating in a cycle in which the current fiuctuations in oppositedirections are equal in duration and potential, thereby propelling thematerial in the field toward and from the backing sheet at a speeddetermined by the potential in the field, and adjusting the frequency ofthe cycle of alterations to make each propulsive impulse of each cyclesubstantially correspond in time to the time required to move a particleof material in one direction through the electrostatic field.

8. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises conducting a backing sheet having its undersurfaceadhesively coated between spaced electrodes, conducting comminuted pilesurface forming material between said electrodes in spaced relationbelow the sheet, establishing between said electrodes an electrostaticfield alternating in a cycle in which the current fluctuations inopposite directions are equal in duration and potential, therebypropelling the material upwardly and downwardly in the field toward andfrom the backing sheet at a speed determined by the potential in thefield, and adjusting the frequency of the cycle of alternations to makeeach upwardly directed propulsive impulse of each cycle subtsantiallycorrespond in time to the time required to lift a particle of materialthrough said space to the adhesively coated backing sheet.

9. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises establishing an electrostatic field alternating in acycle in which the current fluctuations in opposite directions are equalin duration and potential, introducing adhesively coated sheet materialand comminuted pile surface forming material into the field in spacedrelation, whereby said fluctuations in opposite directions propel thematerial in the field toward and from the backing sheet at a speeddetermined by the potential in the field, and adjusting the frequency ofthe cycle of alternations and the potential of the fluctuations to makeeach propulsive impulse of each cycle correspond in potential and timeto the propulsive force and time required to move an article of materialthrough said space to said backing sheet.

10. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises establishing an electrostatic field alternating in acycle in which the current fluctuations in opposite directions aresubstantially equal in duration and potential, introducing adhesivelycoated sheet material and comminuted pile surface forming material intothe field in spaced relation, whereby said fluctuations in oppositedirections propel the material in the field toward and from the backingsheet at a spaced determined by the potential in the field, andadjusting the potential in the field to make each propulsive impulse ofeach cycle have the force required to move a particle of materialthrough said space to the backing sheet during the time in the cyclethat said impulse is effective.

11. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material in continuouslengths, the process which comprises providing, between spaced upper andlower electrodes, an electrostatic fieldof alternating potentialenergized by alternating current, the duration and amplitude of thenegative and positive impulses of which are substantially equal,introducing adhesive surface sheet material into said field adjacent theupper electrode with the adhesive facing downwardly, bringing comminutedpile surface forming material into the field adjacent the lowerelectrode and below said surface of the sheet material, and electricallypropelling the comminuted material in a direction counter to gravity andinto the adhesive, whereby a dense pile surface coating is obtained inwhich the long axes of the comminuted material are substantiallyperpendicular to the plane of the adhesive, and whereby the excess ofcomminuted material not embedded in the adhesive is readily removed fromthe pile coated surface.

12. In the art of producing pile surface sheet material, the processwhich comprises conducting an adhesively coated backing sheet betweenspaced electrodes with the coated surface facing downwardly, conductingcomminuted pile surface forming material between said electrodes inspaced relation below said sheet, establishing between said electrodesan electrostatic field alternating in a cycle in which the currentfluctuations in opposite directions are substantially equal in durationand potential, utilizing the fluctuations in one direction to propel thematerial in the field upwardly toward the backing sheet to produce adense pile surface coating on the sheet in which the long axes of thecomminuted material are subtsantially perpendicular to the plane of theadhesive, and utilizing the fluctuations in the opposite direction toremove the excess of comminuted material not embedded in the adhesivefrom thepile coated surface.

JOHN Q. AMS'I'UZ.

e CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,225, 4-76- December 5, 1914.0.

JOHN O. AHSTUZ.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5,first column, line ho, claim 1o, for-the word. "spaced" read --speed-;and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Office.

Signed and sealed this hth day of February, A. D. 1911.1.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

